in the garden

When I was little my mom had a garden where we grew roses, green beans, and tomatoes. I remember going out to the side of the house to pick things when they were ready, and the garden is at the center of two oft-told tales of my babyhood.

        One: I am in the yard with my dad, sitting on a blanket while he pulls weeds. My mom
        comes out to see what we are up to and is horrified to find me with smiling with a 
        mouth full of dirt, second and third helpings waiting in my hands.

       Two: Tomatoes. I am sitting on the kitchen counter next to a bowl of warm cherry 
       tomatoes that we just brought in from the garden. My mom turns to wash her hands, 
       get something from the fridge, and when she turns back I am popping cherry 
       tomatoes into my mouth one after the other, as fast as I can chew them, tomato 
       juice all over my cheeks and dripping off my chin. I almost immediately break into 
       a rash and cry with my whole heart when my mom takes the tomatoes away.

I've heard story number two enough that it has the feel of a memory, but really I don't remember liking tomatoes at all; instead, I patiently picked them out of all dishes in my childhood and would even temporarily remove the cheese to wipe red sauce from my pizza.

But then, five summers ago, I had a garden. And while I still don't buy them from the grocery store, garden tomatoes and I have been inseparable ever since. Last year we were up to nine tomato plants, and this year so many have re-seeded themselves that I haven't counted, but we'll probably end up with somewhere around fifteen.

Lucy likes to garden with us. At first she would put handfuls of dirt into her mouth, and we had to watch out because she liked to chew on the little rocks. But lately she just wants to do what we're doing, so she hijacks the hand-shovel and bangs it on the planter walls, picks up handfuls of dirt and moves them to other places. She likes to splash in the brief puddles the hose makes before the water sinks into the tomato plants. So far we haven't managed to get her to pull any weeds.

I gave her a sugar snap pea to chew on yesterday when we were out there, but she preferred to break it into two, so I tried to show her how to get the peas out. By the end of the summer she should be ready to try a tomato.

 Me and Lu, just under a year ago. My how she's grown!

is it friday already?

like a heatwave

Portland was hot today. As I write this at 8pm it is still 89 degrees outside, and I am having a smoothie for dinner. Highs in the mid-90s may not mean much to you East Coasters, but is reminding me of the heat wave we had last summer the week that Lucy was born. Of course, thanks to her battle with jaundice, we got to spend some of that week in that nice (if expensive) air conditioned hotel known as Good Samaritan Hospital. Thanks again for that, Lu.

But back to this year's hot weather. After a wet wet May and June we now have something new to complain about! Shaggy set up a fan + AC + tarp contraption that has been doing a pretty good job of keeping the house cool, but this afternoon Lucy and I decided to take a jaunt downtown to play in the Salmon Street Springs Fountain.

I'd say she was more observant than gleeful, though there were a few smiles to be had. In any case, when we got back home the house suddenly felt much cooler in comparison.

friday cute shot

yes, i am still posting pictures of the north carolina beach

Among the many awesome things that happened at the beach (two weeks ago already?) was the time when we stopped for coffee en route to spending a few hours in a local town and I realized that I had left the house without any shoes. We were already 8 miles away and we weren't turning back, so clearly the only solution was a shoe shopping excursion. My sister-in-law Wendell and I both ended up with some fancy new sandals, so I just drank my iced coffee and pretended that I planned the whole thing.

 

Lucy had tons of fun playing with her cousins, especially her cousin Emma. Every time Shaggy and I would leave her with her Gramme or Grandpa or Auntie Wendell and head to the beach, we would come back covered in salt and sand to hear that when Lucy started losing her patience or wanting her mama, Emma had saved the day.

An awesome big cousin

Proof of a successful family vacation